


Hold it, is this a kissing fic?

by juggydunes



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Probably won't make much sense at first if you've never seen "The Princess Bride"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 08:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11870571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juggydunes/pseuds/juggydunes
Summary: In which Jughead has the habit of telling Betty "As you wish" and she has no idea what it really means... until she does.





	Hold it, is this a kissing fic?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jandjsalmon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jandjsalmon/gifts).



> This was written mainly as a gift for the amazing Jandjsalmon, who makes me really happy I decided to jump into the Bughead fandom everyday just because I got to know her.  
> Special shout out to Raptorlily for helping me choose this prompt!  
> Hope you enjoy the fluff :)

“Will I get complete freedom?” Jughead asks, narrowing her eyes at Betty slightly. 

“I’ll help… and edit.” She starts slowly, ignoring the amused look in her friend’s face. “And suggest but it’s your story… it’s your voice.”

“Doesn’t  _ sound  _ like complete freedom but…” Jughead makes a jest when he pauses. “As you wish.”

Betty claps her hands together in the most genuine feeling of gratefulness she’s felt in a long while. “Okay, great. Uhm… in that case, I have your first assignment. There’s one person that was at the River in July 4th that no one is talking about.”    
“Dilton Doyle and his scouts.”   


“Exactly.” 

Jughead touches his nose in signal and he walks off the office, leaving Betty to nervously bit her bottom lip.

She looks around the old dusty office and a feeling of giddiness fills her heart. She was so sure Jughead would say no to her proposal, she feels like she could jump from joy over his acceptance.

Betty smiles at the memory of his “as you wish”... something so purely Jughead. He might be the Mayor of Broodtown, but in reality he was one of the kindest people she’s ever met. And, somewhere between childhood and their now teenage years, he had developed a habit to tell her “ _ as you wish _ ” in answer to various things and whenever he could.

She had found it endearing at first, his willingness to not act like someone his age made him weird in other people’s eyes but to her it just made him interesting and cute. Then it had turned to something so purely Jughead that hearing those words on other people made her almost uncomfortable.

Betty briefly wondered if she had  _ a thing  _ too, something that was so undoubtedly hers that people would remember her if it ever popped up somewhere. She sees the reflection on the window, the soft pastels and signature high ponytail. Betty didn’t want to be remembered by something that was so clearly imposed by her mother. Maybe her kindness could be her signature instead, even if sometimes it was a double-edged sword when she torn herself apart simply to please everyone else.

With those thoughts in mind, Betty turns away from her reflection, relaxing her tightly fisted hands and sets off to make the Blue and Gold office alive again.

 

* * *

 

Veronica has been at Riverdale High for almost a month now, while Betty had been resentful after the whole Archie incident… she ended up feeling this weird sense of gratefulness because if it weren’t for that whole hellish situation, she’d still be hung up on someone who not only did not care about her that way but… she didn’t love.

After years of fooling herself into something more than a crush _ \- the kind that came from being bombarded 24/7 about the white picket fence life in a way you started wishing for a life that was a complete lie and not close to anything you wanted -  _  she felt free. Exploring her rebellious side was liberating and it didn’t take much. Betty found that even using clothes her mother didn’t approve of made her feel stronger and more hers. 

It helped that she found she had a support system made of amazing friends. Veronica always invited her over when things got too much at her place, Kevin helped her with her homework when she had a lot on her plate, Archie made her forget about her issues with his clumsy yet charming ways and Jughead… Jughead had become her rock. Jughead was that presence that you knew would always be there for you.

It made her heart skip a beat with fondness over the way he’d make jokes to get her out of a mood, debate with her over his articles in a way she knew he was mostly trying to keep her distracted and he even once had shared a few fries with her. That had shocked everyone, including Jughead.

One day at lunch time they were all chatting when Jughead got up, mumbling something about heading to the library to finish an assignment. Betty taps him on the arm before be fully goes away, Jughead looks at her in question as he slips on his messenger bag. 

“Don’t forget you have to hand in the article for next week with the revisions, Juggie.” Betty says, pointing her index finger in his direction. Jughead smiles down at her, amused.

“Sure, Captain.” He says. “As you wish.” 

Betty smiles back at him as he retreats after making a military salute at her. She feels giddiness bubbling up inside of her, threatening to escape her. 

“ _ As you wish? _ ” Veronica asks, and Betty looks back at her, tilting her head to the side. 

“Yeah… It’s something he says all the time. I don’t know, it’s his thing.” Betty replies. 

“Yeah…  _ It’s his thing. _ ” Kevin adds, shooting Veronica a pointed look. The raven haired girl nods and turns to look at the spot Jughead has just vacated by Betty.

“Interesting.” She mutters to herself but Betty is not paying them a lot of attention as she gathers her things before heading to class. “Hold up, Princess Buttercup, I’ll walk with you.”

“What did you call me?” Betty asks her, confused and frowning at her friend. 

“Nothing, nothing. Come on, move that cute butt of yours or we’ll be late.”

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t suppose to end like this.

Betty holds back tears, trying to stomp on her feelings but it’s getting harder by the second.

She had focused so hard on preparing everything for Homecoming that she had been pretty much absent until the day itself. Which meant not having a date… Not that there was anyone she would’ve liked to go with, but it still would’ve been nice if someone had even bothered to  _ ask  _ her. 

After Polly’s situation had made the news, people started talking about her and looking in Betty’s direction with disgust. Veronica had taken the habit of walking with her down the halls and glaring at anyone that looked at her slightly badly. She was truly grateful, even if she didn’t need anyone to protect her it was nice to know she had people on her side.

_ That’s how one thursday at the Blue & Gold offices had Jughead waving his hand in front of her face to get her attention after she had spent several minutes staring blankly at her screen without moving.  _

_ “There you are.” Jughead tells her, smiling softly and leaning more comfortably against her desk. “Where did you go?”   _

_ “Sorry, Juggie.” Betty apologizes. “I was thinking about tomorrow, lots to do.”  _

_ “Homecoming, right?” He asks, even though she’s sure he knows the answer. Betty yawns, suddenly really really tired. _

_ “Yep.” Betty replies. “I need to come make sure everything is alright and the building won’t caught fire then I’ll head back home to get a much needed full night sleep.” _

_ “You aren’t staying at it?” Jughead asks, looking at her confused and twisting to fully face her. _

_ “No… I don’t really have a date and don’t feel like being the third wheel to Archie and Veronica.” Betty grimaces at the thought. _

_ “Well…” Jughead starts, scratching his neck somewhat nervously. “I wasn’t planning on going but if you’d like to, I can go and you won’t have to third-wheel.” he tells her and she sees his throat bobble. _

_ “You…” Betty is so moved by this, she can’t find the words. “You’d do that for me?” _

_ Jughead gets this soft look on his face that she’s never quite seen and gets the sudden urge to make him repeat this expression as much as possible. He looks younger and less burdened by life. “Yeah.” He simply says, gifting her a small smirk. _

_ “Oh, Juggie. This means so much to me!” Betty says, standing up and walking towards Jughead before she’s hugging him to her tightly. “Pop’s after homecoming, my treat for making you go through such a mundane soul-sucking teenage cliched event.” She’s chuckling after trying to put into words some of the ways Jughead would likely describe Homecoming. _

_ “I never say no to Pop’s, you know me.” He tells her, leaning back but keeping his hands on her waist for a lingering moment. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” _

_ “I certainly hope so, I helped organize it, you dummy.” Betty jokes, sitting back on her chair but still facing him. _

Homecoming had gone great, amazing even. Jughead was an amazing date, helping her with last minute organization problems while managing to make her laugh all the time. Betty had even made him agree to dancing one song with her. It had all gone to hell though, when the Sheriff came in, Veronica and Archie talking about the way they had gone to FP’s trailer. The look of betrayal in Jughead’s eyes had been too much. Betty thinks she’ll remember the look in his eyes for a long while in her nightmares.  

Betty had felt the echo of his breaking heart inside her chest, like hers couldn’t help but follow him. Desperation and tears rolled off her like waves, the same thick sense of betrayal clouding her senses and her eyes as she stared with must’ve been disgust and rage at her friends. She couldn’t stomach the thought of losing Jughead.

“I told you not to do this.” Betty tells them angrily after Jughead has disappeared to God knows where. God, she shouldn’t have let him go. She felt afloat, his absence so deeply noticed, she felt week in the knees. The desire to make this right kept her upright as anger fueled her blood. 

“Betty, you don’t understand. When we went to the trailer there wasn’t any gun.” Archie explains with voice laced with desperation. “He’s being framed.”

Hours and several tears later, they found Jughead at Pop’s. He looked the image of brokenhearted. His eyes held no life and she felt the urge to shake him by the shoulders and scream at his face to forgive them all and come back to her.  _ Please. Come back to me, please. I can’t lose you. _

“I’m sorry, Jughead.” Betty finally says when they’re alone. “I didn’t know how far they’d go.”

Jughead is silent for a few seconds, looking at the cup of coffee on the table. He sighs. “It’s okay.” His voice is hoarse, his beanie lying forgotten and hair pointing in every direction, clearly having been pulled at and messed with by his fingers. “I shouldn’t make you responsible for other’s actions.”

“I could’ve warned you. I could’ve told you they were suspicious and I should’ve seen this coming.” Betty rushes to talk, feeling somewhat hysterical. She forces herself to calm down, Jughead needs her to be fine right now.

“You weren’t sure and you’ve been busy. You’re human too, Betts.” He tells her. “Do I wish you would’ve told me? Yes. Was I mad at you for a second? Sure. But I know you would never hurt me on purpose.” 

“Never. I’m so sorry, Jughead. Truly.” Betty apologizes even though the words don’t feel enough. “From now on, we’ll tell each other everything. We’re partners and more importantly you’re my best friend. Promise?” 

Jughead gives her the smallest smile, even if it doesn’t reach his eyes… it’s still something. “As you wish.” he says and her eyes well up at the phrase. She lets herself be comforted by the familiarness of his words, lets them envelop her as a comfort blanket from the cocktail of emotions she has. 

“I do wish.” She says. “Now, let’s head back to the station.”

 

* * *

 

She’s a bit nervous, to be completely honest.

Betty thinks the emotional whiplash of last year’s Jughead’s birthday party still haunts her. Clearly, everything was okay between them but she still felt like she needed to wait for the other shoe to drop.  _ Deep breaths, Betty. Think Happy thoughts.  _ She repeats on her way to Pop’s. 

They had decided to meet there and just simply nod at Jughead for his birthday, reason number two why the gift in her purse felt extremely heavy, as if it carried the amount of her nervousness and guilt inside of it too. Betty simply wanted to do something nice for Jughead, surely a small gift that costed close to nothing couldn’t hurt, right?

The door chimes as she makes her way into the dinner and, unsurprisingly, she finds Jughead alone typing his thoughts away. Something awakens inside her chest at the familiar sight, making her smile. It takes a few steps from her until Jughead lifts his gaze and his eyes fall on her, the corner of his mouth ticking up.

“Happy birthday, Juggie!” She tells him, waving at him to stand up, which he does reluctantly after groaning. Betty closes the space between them and wraps her arms around his neck, bringing him impossibly close to her. 

Jughead takes a second before she’s hugging her back just as strongly. “Thank you, Betts.” 

Betty doesn’t want to let go, finding comfort on the warmth of his body and the way his head tilts slightly so he’s leaning his cheek on the top of her head. They break apart seconds later, Jughead resuming his position in front of his laptop, Betty following him to the booth. She sees him save the document then promptly closes his laptop.

“The rest hasn’t shown up yet?” She asks, looking around. 

“Seeing as it’s fifteen minutes before 6… No.” Jughead raises an eyebrow in amusement as he looks at her. 

“Oh.” She replies, not having noticed the time. In her worry about the  _ what ifs  _  she had arrived early to the diner. Betty looks at Jughead, takes a deep breath and gets the package out of her purse. “I’ve got you something.” 

“Betty…” Jughead says, reprimand on his voice as he narrows his eyes at the package in her hand. “We talked about this…”

“I know, I know. This is something small, I swear. I just wanted to give you  _ something. _ ” She says, pushing his gift into his hands with an eager smile. The anxiety replaces the nerves but it’s a numb feeling that comes when stuff is out of her hands. She’ll freak out and be nervous until there’s a moment where she simply turns off and begins to relax. 

“Okay, well… thank you” He says and places the package on the table.

“What are you doing? Open it!” Betty ushers him, nodding excitedly at him.

“Now?” Jughead asks, looking confused. 

“Yes, Jughead, now!” Betty replies, putting the gift on his hands again. 

Jughead unwraps it slowly, not really ripping the paper apart, but rather carefully opening it by the seams. The mug comes to view and the words on it are facing Betty for a moment before he turns the mug around. 

His eyes widen comically and for a second Betty is worried he doesn’t like it.

“It’s just something I saw at a store the other day and I know how much you say it. I don’t mean that in an annoyed way, I find it cute and endearing. It just reminded me so much of you that I had to buy it.” She says as Jughead still inspects the  _ As you wish _ inscripted mug in his hands. “Now you can drink your trademark black coffee with your trademark phrase mug while wearing your trademark beanie.”

“Uhm…” The tip of his ears are pink that’s quickly spreading to his cheeks and Betty is a little confused at his reaction. “Thank you, Betty. I really like it.”  His voice is a bit rough and she’s not sure she believes his words until he’s carefully wrapping it again, as it was something valuable that should be handled with care. 

“I’m glad you like it, Jug.” Betty tells him, smiling softly at him. Jughead’s eyes fall to her then, the blue in them seems stormy and bright. His expression is a mixture between soft and resigned. She frowns as he opens his mouth to speak. 

“Betty, I…” 

“Torombolo! Feliz cumpleaños a ti!” Veronica interrupts him, opening her arms in an universal  _ give me a hug  _ gesture that has Jughead rolling his eyes before he ushers Betty out of their booth to hug their friend. Betty is so relieved they had grown closer this last year, Veronica and Jughead,even if sometimes it was like watching a car crash in slow motion when they had heated discussions over pop-culture. 

By the time everyone arrives, Betty is sitting next to the window with Jughead’s thigh pressed against hers as she watches enraptures at the sight of a relaxed Jughead laughing. 

It’s a couple of days later at the blue and gold offices when Jughead, instead of speaking, just raises his mug and gently taps his index finger against the words, smirking as Betty chuckles at his antics. 

No one needs to know how her heart raced at the view. 

* * *

 

Reality has set in heavily for Betty Cooper.

Reality is her moving out to College in two months. She’s mainly happy, okay? She really is. Going away to College means no more Alice pestering and criticizing every move she makes, it means studying what she loves, broadening her horizons and independence… however, it also means not having a better half of her friends minutes away.

Veronica had been accepted to Harvard, Kevin was off all the way to Los Angeles with Archie. Luckily for her, Jughead had decided to go to NYU too. She remembers the excitement and relief she had felt when he let her know. Jughead has been awarded a full scholarship after winning a writing contest and she couldn’t be more proud of him. 

It still saddens her a bit, how quickly the years seems to pass through her eyes. How she’d be far away from Polly and the kids, away from the known and reliable Riverdale. She had the best and the worst memories here, and even if she never thought she’d say this… she was going to miss her town. For Betty knew, once she left… she was unlikely to come back permanently. Betty simply had bigger ambitions than this town and it felt like her dreams were getting claustrophobic from staying there any longer. 

So Betty decided to have a  _ reality checked-in sad party  _ by herself, which meant movies and comfort food in her room. She sets more comfortably on her bed, adjusting the laptop on her side as she scrolls down Netflix, trying to find something to watch. 

_ The princess bride  _ catches her eyes, she was in need of a good romantic comedy to watch, something to fill her with warmth from the inside and take her mind off of things. So she presses play and takes a bite from the cookie in her hand. She’s charmed by the little boy in the story when all of a sudden…

_ As you wish was all he ever said. That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying “as you wish” what he meant was “I love you”.  _

“What the hell?” She whispers to herself and rewinds the movie a few seconds back. She must’ve heard wrong. 

But the words were as clear as day as Westley repeated again, again and again “ _ As you wish”  _ to Princess Buttercup. She is shocked as she continues watching, enraptured by the story and how both of these characters found each other again. 

By the time the movie ends, she’s laying on her back staring at the ceiling.  _ So much for a relaxing movie, huh?  _ she thinks sardonically.  _ Sarcasm to avoid touchy subjects, I must be spending too much time with… _

Jughead. 

Betty freezes all over again. She had watched the whole film in the hopes that it was a coincidence, but as she lays there and thinks of all the time he’s said it… it can’t be. If she remembers correctly, she thinks Veronica once called her Princess Buttercup under her breath. 

A new sense of frustration sets over Betty. How come he never said it out right? It’s not like she would reject him!

The thought makes her stop, the truth of it makes Betty sit up in bed from the shock. As every piece falls to its place, almost like Buttercup at the beginning she realises…

_ And even more amazing was the day she realised she truly loved him back.  _

A somewhat hysterical laugh escapes her lips. She loves Jughead.  _ She loves Jughead.  _ It’s always been there, she thinks, waiting for her to open her eyes. How her heart went crazy when she saw him, the way he was her first call for everything, the fact that out of every single one of them… she had been hoping for Jughead to follow her to College. 

Betty quickly puts on some shoes, not really bothering with changing out of her joggings and a t-shirt before she’s climbing into her mom’s car, quickly yelling some excuses and heading to his trailer. Every color looks saturated, and as she reaches his home, she’s both so angry and so relieved. She’s excited, she’s nervous, she’s a stupid mess as she knocks.

Jughead opens the door, confused expression on his face. He’s wearing similar clothes to her, his hair is unkempt and she suddenly realises that it’s past 10pm on a friday. 

“Betts? You okay?” He asks, moving a little to let her through the door. Betty quickly enters before facing him. Jughead closes the door and jumps slightly when he turns around to find her closely in front of him. 

“Have you been Princess bride-ing me with the “as you wish”?” She blurts out. Jughead simply sighs and moves to the side, bypassing her in his direction to the kitchen.

“Yes.” Jughead says simply, as if her stomach isn’t turning upside down at his words. “Thanks for noticing.” 

“ _ Thanks for noticing?”  _ Betty hollars, mouth dropping open. “Thanks for noticing? Why didn’t you say something?” 

“What?  _ ‘Hey, Betty, how are you? I’ve been in love with you since I can remember but I’ve been too chicken shit to say anything. Okay, Bye.’ ”  _ Jughead scoffs, still not turning to look at her. Something bubbles up inside of her, similar to frustration and anger. “How would that have helped at all?” He asks, shrugging and moving around the kitchen as if he was looking for something. 

“Well, for instance I would’ve noticed that I’m in love with you too sooner!” Betty tells him, voice a little raised and Jughead stiffens before he’s finally  _ finally  _ turning around to face her, shock clear as day on his face. 

“What did you say?” Jughead asks, not really moving as his breathing becomes quicker. 

“Well, apparently you’re not the only idiot in this relationship that closes themselves off from the emotional spectrum of life.” She tells him, eyes wide, raising her arms to let them fall again against her side in a frustrated gesture. Betty walks to him, close enough to gently grab him by the shoulders of his t-shirt. Her throat bobs as she stares right into his eyes and she must’ve been crazy not to notice how she felt about him. “I  _ as you wish  _  you too, dumbass.” 

“Really?” He ask, his frown melting into a soft expression and his arms now wrap around her waist. Her heart breaks a little at the need of confirmation he seems to asks of her, it’s real, she can see it in his eyes… as if he can’t believe this is real and not a dream. 

“Jughead Jones… I love you. I’m sorry it took me this long to figure it all out.” She whispers and he breaks into the most beautiful smile she’s ever seen on him. 

Jughead’s eyes fly over her face before falling on her lips. Suddenly he’s leaning down and there’s nothing else in the world for her but their smiles crashing against each other in a kiss that’s all teeth but also all emotion. He crushes her closer to his chest and she sighs against his mouth.  _ They could’ve been doing this for so long now… _

“You’re such an idiot.” She says, suddenly ripping her lips apart from his and swatting him softly on the chest, remembering the big speech she had prepared on her way over. “I can’t believe you never told me anything, we could’ve been doing this for months now, Jughead. Months! And we’re going to college in a few months, what were you going to do, huh?”

“Ugh, Betts, I love you but you’re killing me here.” He says, still staring at her lips intently. His breath fans over her face as he sighs. 

“You seem a decent fellow, I hate to kill you.” She tells him, pursing her lips together trying not to laugh.  _ Oh,  _ she’s going to enjoy this. Jughead’s eyes widen in delight as he laughs before bringing his forehead to rest on hers. 

“You seem a decent fellow, I hate to die.” He replies before his lips are claiming hers again.

There’s not a lot of talking after that.

 

* * *

 

Years later, after Archie stands up to make his speech as the best man in their wedding and starts to say  _ Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew today  _ in a perfect impression that has everyone laughing, Betty takes a moment to look at Jughead, who’s already looking at her with what can only be described as happiness in his eyes and she knows she wouldn’t change  _ any single thing. _

“Would you dance with me, Mrs. Jones?” He asks, pecking quickly on the lips. Betty gives him the most wicked smile she has before answering. 

“As you wish.” 

 


End file.
